


Main Attraction

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Blood, F/F, F/M, Fem!Mark, Fem!Renjun, M/M, Mafia AU, Mafia NCT, Major Character Injury, Multi, No Major Character Death, Organized Crime, Violence, fem!jaehyun, fem!jungwoo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-08 12:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19869985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When Jaehyun applied for the job as Mister Lee’s personal secretary, she knew exactly what she was in for.In hindsight, maybe not as exactly as she had hoped.





	1. Overture

“Excuse me, I am here for an interview for the position of a personal assistant and secretary?” Jaehyun had arrived to the scene. It was only because Minseok mentioned that this place was hiring, that she came, otherwise it would have come and gone completely unbeknownst to her.

She wasn’t dumb, however, and knew when an excellent career path opened up before her. She knew exactly in which lion’s den she was willingly putting herself, and she was confident she could come out of it unscathed. 

“Jung Jaehyun? You’re the last one for today. I’ll lead you to the office.” The receptionist, with a name tag reading the peculiar name ‘Haechan’, walked away from his from his spot behind the computer, towards her. Besides his boring corporate clothing, he sported a bulky black ring on his right hand, and a modern watch on his left. Jaehyun couldn’t help but notice this incongruity between the subtle, conservative suit and the chunky modern jewellery. 

Still, she dismissed it as being a form of personal expression, and followed the man through large double doors, into an elevator, and up to the eleventh floor. 

“I was instructed to bring you personally once you arrived, since the last interviewee was sent out within five minutes. I probably wasn’t supposed to say that, but it happened.” Haechan looked vaguely sheepish as he told Jaehyun this. In response, she just smiled kindly, suddenly hyperaware that she hadn’t been doing that until now. Well, whatever. If that was ground for not hiring her, she didn’t want to work here. 

She studied the man’s face as he turned to pop an earpiece into his ear. She raised an eyebrow at him, and once he noticed her expression, he just shrugged. 

“Security reasons. ‘M not supposed to be this far from my desk.”

“Irreplaceable? At your age?”

“When you’re the best at what you do, it happens.” Haechan shrugged again, which Jaehyun supposed meant he didn’t want to talk much about it.

“I suppose that’s how it goes, sure.”

“Well, anyhow. Mister Lee will be interviewing you himself. You’ll find there is nobody else, but because of security reasons, you’ll be viewed through a security camera. The footage will be deleted from the main drive in 72 hours so that normal people don’t have any more access to it, and permanently deleted after two weeks. It will not be exported, unless we get explicit orders from the police or any other investigator.” Haechan had a funny look on his face as he said that. Jaehyun had a thought cross her mind fleetingly, and she was glad to have forgotten it as soon as it came, as it was not a thought appropriate for voicing out loud. Instead of replying, she just nodded, to at least signify she understood.

“It’s safe to say that if nothing noteworthy happens during the interview, the footage will be deleted without anyone ever looking at it twice. I’m legally obligated to tell you this.” Haechan looked at her with a look that told her that she was supposed to ask any questions she had beforehand to him, but to please not ask any questions. She had the feeling that Haechan wasn’t used to having to lead a conversation, at least not a formal one like this. She smiled at him, and bowed her head. 

She hadn’t consciously noticed she’d been following him, but they were walking through a hall now with doors on either side. At the end of a hall, they took a right, into a hall with only one room at the end. Jaehyun turned to Haechan, and bowed at about 45 degrees.

“Just through that door, I assume? Thank you for taking the time to lead me here.”

“It’s nothing, just doing as I am told. Good luck in there.” Haechan bowed as well, then stood up straight to motion towards the door, when his watch started beeping. He shot Jaehyun an apologetic look, and mouthed ‘security’ at her, before bolting away, mumbling to himself.

Jaehyun shook her head at the sudden lack of professionalism, though more in a softly berating way than in cold judgement. She turned to the door, and knocked thrice, before opening the door, where she saw Mister Lee Taeyong, the young executive of the Lee Construction Firm, an international firm financing construction projects ranging from art installations to industrial terrains, waiting for her to arrive.

—

Lee Taeyong was a simple man, with simple needs. He needed to find, in the next six to seven months, a personal secretary, a partner, and a way to stay alive in the competitive business he was about to become a part of. Having just recently gained his place as CEO of Lee Constructions, and as likely next godfather of the largest illegal Korean organization in history, he had a lot to fight for, and a lot of people who were either trying to kill him, force an arranged marriage on him, or marry him. 

Now, he wasn’t planning on doing either of those, dying or marrying that is, but that did mean he had to find a trustworthy second to have his back, and a part of his, frankly gigantic, workload. 

He had Donghyuck and Doyoung back him up by running background checks on the interviewees, and Johnny was his first line of defense if things were to go awry. He didn’t plan on it, but he did plan for it. 

He’d seen seven candidates today already. the first five were competent, but there was nothing that really made them stand out, so Taeyong had sent them away politely, saying they’d hear from him within two weeks. The sixth had been interesting, though mostly because of what Doyoung and Donghyuck had been able to find. 

The seventh had been completely and utterly disappointing. He’d sent that one away with a “please take your next job interview more seriously, you’ll get nowhere acting like you are”, and he’d been waiting for the last applicant since. 

He’d done the necessary checks first, of course. He’d had a name and a resume to start himself out. He found out quickly enough though, that Jung Jaehyun, while all the facts stated in her resume were true and traceable, had no online presence whatsoever. 

Now, in this day and age, as a woman nearing thirty, one would think that she’d have had some account somewhere. Facebook, for example, or Instagram. But Wherever Taeyong, and Donghyuck looked, they couldn’t find any Jung Jaehyun anywhere.

So when Jaehyun walked into his office, he didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but it wasn’t an immaculately dressed woman in a dress shirt and a pencil skirt, her black hair carefully though casually draped over one shoulder. She carried a blazer over her arm, and her heels were too high for presumably anyone to walk on without problems, yet she pulled it off quite easily. Not that Taeyong had any idea what it was like to walk on heels, anyway.

“Jung Jaehyun, I presume? Have a seat,” Taeyong told her as he motioned towards the sofa opposite him. He laid the papers he’d been reviewing on the low table separating them, as he watched how Jaehyun took a seat. Then he heard his earpiece crackle a bit, and Doyoung was talking to him.

“Alright boss, I can see you and Miss Jung. Donghyuck is using the information he just got to see if he can dig up some interesting information. As for me, I’ll keep track of some details I personally find interesting. Perhaps I’ll hack into some bank accounts, who knows. Dunno what Hyuck can access and what not. Anyway, I’ll keep you posted.”

Taeyong barely nodded, just to let Doyoung know he understood. Once Jaehyun was seated comfortably in front of him, he started talking to her.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Jung. I’m Lee Taeyong, the new CEO of Lee Constructions. I’m assuming you’re aware of the job you applied for, so I’d like to get started right away. In your resume you said to have worked for the SVT Law Corporation, and I would just like to know what your experience with the company was like?” Taeyong leaned forward just the slightest bit, and folded his hands over his lap. He opted for an interested, yet urgent pose, in order to let Jaehyun feel obliged yet not reluctant to speak. 

“SVT has had ties with the BTS-7 clan since the dawn of time, boss,” Donghyuck quickly, and unnecessarily, clarified. Some things were so glaringly obvious one shouldn’t even feel the need to say them. This was one of those. 

“Yes, well. I was a respected lawyer, and I suppose I quite liked working there as I was given quite a lot of freedom to pick and choose my work, but there wasn’t enough room for me to grow beyond what I already had. All positions were being filled, and I’d been doing the same thing for years, so I’m sure you can understand the frustration.” Jaehyun smiled kindly, in such a way that urged Taeyong to ask a different question.

“Jung Jaehyun was indeed a lawyer for SVT, but there’s not even one case where the name Jung Jaehyun was named as one of the lawyers. All of the cases their lawyers have worked on over the years have been made public to an extent, and none of them say Jaehyun anywhere. We’ll keep searching for something.” Doyoung sighed into his ear, and Taeyong suppressed a shiver. Bloody ASMR sounds.

“Very well, thank you for the answer. Secondly, I would like to ask you, why choose to become a secretary? For a CEO, sure, but it sounds like a bit of a downgrade in intellectual stimulation, in my opinion.” 

“Well, I needed a change of pace, that’s for sure. The job of a secretary and that of a lawyer are both demanding, but in different ways. Practicing law started to exhaust me mentally, so I needed to find something else to do. And since a friend recommended I try my luck here, I did, after thoroughly checking out the job offer and its requirements.” Jaehyun seemed to be completely calm in a situation where Taeyong’s prying was thinly veiled. He was impressed, though he supposed as a former lawyer she had to have lived through many stressful moments.

“Eureka! Boss, this isn’t Jaehyun in front of you. Well, not only. I’ve found an audio sample of the court case from when RM from BTS-7 was let go on accounts of there not being enough solid evidence to convict him,” Donghyuck sounded out of breath as he told him this. 

Taeyong shot Jaehyun a quick “What assets do you believe to bring to this company?”, but he wasn’t listening to her answer. Instead, he was listening to Donghyuck as he rambled on.

“The gang leader was represented in court by a certain Jung Yoonoh, whose speach patterns and voice closely match Jaehyun’s. Also, I have a close approximation of Jaehyun’s height and some other details, and I’m convinced she was in fact involved in the same incident that RM was being convicted for, though I’ll have to dig a bit deeper for conclusive evidence on that. Anyways, I’ve solved the problem of media absence. She was involved with the only other noteworthy illegal organization in Korea, and they didn’t want her to be traceable, so they hid her entire existence-“ Donghyuck was about to carry on, when Doyoung interrupted him.

“Bank account by the name of Jung Yoonoh, large sum of money transferred from SVT Inc to her. Same day, significant amount of money from a bank account just called “Collective” into her pocket. Three days later, large sum of money transferred from her to Kim Minseok, the famous businessman and most desired bachelor in all of Asia, directly, no middle men or anything. All a little more than a month ago. This woman is interesting. I’d keep her around, if not as a secretary then as an ally. She’s got connections.” Doyoung whistled as he clicked and scrolled away. Taeyong nodded and hummed as he thoughtfully rubbed his chin. Then he stood up, and stuck his hand out at the woman, who startled at the sudden movement. Just Taeyong’s luck, she’d just stopped talking and wasn’t expecting such a reaction.

“Miss Jung, I have come to a decision. I am excited to see what you will be bringing to the company. I’ll send you an email tomorrow, we can hopefully arrange a date to determine what your work will be and when you can start.” Taeyong looked immensely satisfied as Jaehyun took his hand with no delay, and shook it gently and respectfully as she bowed. 

“I am looking forward to working with you, mister Lee.” Jaehyun let go of his hand and picked up her blazer, before Taeyong opened the door to let her out. As he closed the door behind her, he motioned at the camera for Johnny to come in, when something hit him. 

“Sprezzatura, that’s the word!”

“The age-old aristocratic art of looking as natural and graceful as possible without looking like you’ve made any particular effort, boss?” Johnny said in a ridiculous accent as he walked in a few minutes later, not even bothering to close the door behind him. 

“I have no idea what half of those words mean, but I agree. Also, boss? She definitely knows who you are, and she definitely knows that I’ve been snooping around her stuff. She just gave me the “I’m watching you” fingers.” Donghyuck’s voice wavered, almost comically so. 

“I know, and surely, a woman that well-informed has some security system in place to notify her when her stuff is being poked through. You shouldn’t even have it in you to be surprised, Hyuck.”

“I agree with Yong, Hyuck. You’re being dumb, you know exactly the kind of woman she is. Why are you surprised she’s aware we’re poking around in her personal information? She’s signing up to work with the mafia, she should be expecting some poking here and there.” Doyoung’s voice was clear and slightly condescending, making it very clear to Taeyong that he was currently pointing an accusatory finger at Donghyuck, even if he couldn’t see them.

“Hey! I’m just saying that she knows I personally have been poking around in her stuff. She knows, Young, she knows!” Donghyuck had probably forcibly shook Doyoung at this point, judging by the suppressed yelp and “fuck off, I’m recovering!” Doyoung let out. Taeyong just raised his eyebrow at Johnny, who shrugged and led the way out of the office, towards the front desk where the two others were sitting.

— 

“Say, you said she was involved in an incident. Explain that, with the evidence you’ve gathered in the time we took to get from the eleventh floor to here.” Johnny looked at Donghyuck, who looked at Doyoung, who gave the youngest an encouraging nod. 

“Alright. Boss, listen carefully, alright? I get that you’re not familiar with many of the techniques I’m using, but I have no time for questions, so you need to listen carefully. 

“So this started when I read a report from some anonymous writer for some tabloid, who stated that ‘RM’s lawyer had an air about her that seemed to say: “I know more about this than you think”, which makes you think: “how much does she actually know then?” Especially considering her age, she shouldn’t be this cocky standing where she’s standing. There is no shame in being a criminal defense lawyer, but there’s no virtue in it either’. I found that interesting, because she of course has that fancy Italian word, which you used and Johnny oh so helpfully explained, about her, but I wouldn’t have called her cocky by any means. 

“Now, I managed to find some CCTV footage from the incident RM was being convicted for, and don’t ask me where I got it, because it’s in every sense of the word illegal,even more so than some of our other activities. But I have it, and I’ll play it for you.”

On the tape, a very blurry motorcycle drove into view. The person riding it was either very buff or wearing some kind of vest. The helmet was a dark colour, probably black, and they were wearing dark, fitted pants, and dark shoes. They pulled a gun from somewhere the camera couldn’t see, and shot thrice inside an antique shop. 

Taeyong remembered this case well. His grandfather, the current Godfather, had found it fascinating to see what they were going to do with the second biggest organised crime leader in Asia. The incident, which killed two people directly and injured a third so much he died mere minutes after giving a testimony to the police, had shook up national awareness of mafia organizations, and had made sure that Taeyong now had to operate mostly in secret. He’d had to before, of course, but extra care and security couldn’t hurt these days. 

The case had taken several months, more than half a year, and the process had been shortened too by explicit request of the defendant, Mister Kim, more popularly known as RM. The defendant’s lawyer had remained completely anonymous during the entire process, but was said to have been extremely professional. RM had been let off with only minor charges for illegally reselling government property. 

“I’ve examined some things the lawyer has said, and she seems to have hammered on about how there was not enough evidence to convict him.”

“Technically, there wasn’t. How can you convict someone for ordering a hit when it was a seemingly random drive-by shooting?” Johnny fell hook line and sinker for Donghyuck’s little trap. Donghyuck looked only a slight bit too happy about it, and Taeyong could only roll his eyes.

“See, that’s just the thing! Bangtan are infamous for both racketeering and middle manning. This shop has been a thinly veiled cover for all sorts of fencing activities, from both our side and Bangtan’s. At this moment, Bangtan was racketeering the shop. 

“The three fatal victims were from a small gang called NM, who have since merged with BTS-7. Choi Seokwon, Kim Yoosu and Park Kwangji had tried to sway the fencer to their side, but Bangtan caught wind and sent someone nearby over to take care of it.” 

Doyoung took over.

“We have evidence Jaehyun was involved with BTS-7, more so the G7 branch than BTS themselves, though she did the occasional favour for RM and his crew. Monthly payments from a bank account by the name of YT, who we’re all familiar with as G7’s eldest crewman and their legal advisor, are visible in her bank account. She was likely, to an extent, trained and housed by BTS-7. This includes arms training, and explains why she had no housing costs for over three years.” Doyoung concluded, pointing at several different blocks of text on his screen. Johnny actually looked at what it said, but Taeyong wasn’t that interested. He trusts Doyoung on his word. 

“The culprit was someone just so happened to be a sharpshooter. She also just so happened to be a woman, which is why she had to wear a helmet and a vest to cover her identity. Because if you look closely at the video, you’ll notice that men’s pants aren’t made to fit legs that way, and those shoes are definitely women’s shoes. The vest also curves in a way it shouldn’t.” Donghyuck zoomed in on the footage, to show the others. Doyoung, who had the knowledge to notice it, nodded pensively, while Taeyong and Johnny just stood still, dumbfounded. A motorcycle drove past the building, and he very nearly missed it, but Jaehyun was clearly the one operating it. 

“And if the lawyer did the crime, she’ll have the ability to do as she pleases, because she has the evidence,” Doyoung helpfully supplied, “they didn’t have a murder weapon, nor an actual suspect. All the law thinks it knows is that BTS-7 sells stuff on the black market, and even that they can’t prove. Jaehyun did a very good job talking RM out of punishment for something he technically didn’t do.”

“And, lastly, to have Jaehyun means to have a likely sharpshooter, lawyer, and top-tier socialite all wrapped into a neat package. It would have been dumb to let her go.” Johnny grinned as he spoke, his eyes nearly disappearing.

“Well said, John. In language Donghyuck understands, too, I’m proud of you.” Doyoung laughed at the face his coworker made at him.

“Fuck you, dude.”


	2. Operation Act Natural

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry if the chapter title doesn’t make sense. It does to me, because I am aware of what is going on behind the scenes, of course. Ten points to anyone who guesses who the chapter title refers to.

“‘Young, I’m going to need you to show Jaehyun around the mansion today.” Taeyong stood in his doorway, telling him what to do, as per usual.

“Not gonna happen, boss. Do it yourself.”

“I need to plan a funeral, ‘Young, I have no time!” Doyoung sighed at Taeyong’s panicked exclamation, and finally looked him in the eyes.

“In case you have forgotten, I am sitting and working here to make sure you don’t die within a year,” Doyoung raised an eyebrow at his boss, who had the decency to look vaguely embarrassed, “and secondly, I had a surgery performed on me less than a month ago, and am still recovering. So, with all the respect I have ever had for you combined into a short two words: Fuck off,” he watched Taeyong jump at his words, “and go ask Johnny or Jungwoo or something. Lord knows they aren’t allowed anywhere near the funeral, anyways.”

Taeyong opened his mouth, then closed it, and opened it again. His eyes had gotten wider with every word Doyoung had said, and only now were they closing again. He offered Doyoung a strained, exasperated smile, before walking away without a word. Doyoung grinned to himself, lopsidedly in his satisfaction, as he focussed on his screen again. 

Not even fifteen minutes later, Jungwoo came in, without knocking, and with another lady at her side. Doyoung was looking intently at the code before him, so much so that Jungwoo had to slam her hand on his desk before he noticed them. 

“This is Doyoung, Doyoung, this is Jaehyun.” She rolled her eyes at Doyoung, who stayed seated and only bowed shallowly. 

“I would have shaken your hand at any other time, but I have recently undergone surgery and I really shouldn’t be working at all, let alone shake hands.” He offered the woman, whose bank information he knew more thoroughly than his own, an apologetic smile, which only just reached his eyes. 

“I understand. Pleasure to meet you, Mister Kim.” Doyoung nearly gagged at the name, more so out of the fact that it made him sound old than discomfort. Jungwoo laughed at him as he scowled. 

“Just call me Doyoung, everyone does.”

“It’s true. Takes after father, we’ll meet him later, he’s not into formalities at all. Anyways, Doyoung here is the sole person Taeyong would trust with his really personal information. He’s manually created programs to decrypt encrypted data, and the other way around. Master coder, and wicked smart.” Jungwoo rambled on about Doyoung’s work, but he wasn’t listening anymore. He glanced up at Jaehyun’s face, who looked him in the eye and raised a knowing eyebrow, which made him shrug. He turned back to his work, and motioned towards the door with one lame hand.

“Go show her the labs or something, Woo. She deserves something more interesting to look at than me and my screen.” 

“Plenty interesting to me,” Jaehyun replied, and Jungwoo started cackling so loudly and harshly, she choked on her own laughter. Doyoung rolled his eyes, not even looking at her as she coughed, aided by pats on the back from Jaehyun. As soon as she stopped coughing, she opened her mouth to talk again. 

“Thanks, Jaehyun. Come on, let’s leave this loser here to stare at green text and get neck cramps on his own. I’ll show you where Johnny works next. He’s so dreamy, and I bet his office will-“ Jungwoo had turned around and left Doyoung alone to work, linking her arms with Jaehyun’s to force her to walk along. All Doyoung could do was sigh, and stare at his screen some more. This was what sisters are for, apparently. 

He finished his work for the day about two hours later, sticking to the strict schedule Yixing had given him by the minute. He saved his files, then completely turned his computer off and removed one of the external disks from the rest of the hardware. 

Stuffing random pens he saw lying around and several pieces of paper he knew he should handle more carefully into his bag, he quickly made out of his room, intending to steal some food from the main kitchen before resting in his private room in the staff’s residence. 

Instead, he physically bumped into Jaehyun, who was trying to enter his office.

“What.” Great job Doyoung, operation sound intelligent failed at step one.

“Jungwoo is hardcore flirting with one of the snipers a few doors down. I was trying to get her to leave with me, but she’s not budging at all. I just left on my own, but now I don’t know where to go.” Jaehyun avoided eye contact, briefly touching the back of her head. She smiled sheepishly.

“I’ll show you the kitchens, if you haven’t been. I need to go elsewhere afterwards, so you’re not allowed to follow me then, but I will show you to the kitchens and maybe even find you someone you can cling to. We’ll see.” Doyoung shrugged, not having a particular inclination to help her find her way himself, though not opposed to finding her a new guide. He was tired, but not a complete asshole.

“Thanks! I haven’t been to the kitchens yet, Jungwoo said something about leaving the highlight for last.” Doyoung scoffed at that. Classic Jungwoo.

“It’s not even one of the better kitchens in the mansion, let alone one of the better spaces. I’m just looking for Hyuck, he’s always flirting with one of the kitchen maids. She never responds, but that doesn’t deter him.” Jaehyun tilted her head quizzically, furrowing her brows.

“Hyuck?”

“Oh yeah, you’ll know him as Haechan.”

“The one who was snooping around in my bank account when I was being interviewed?” Jaehyun smiled broadly and confidently, with an air of superiority. 

“Nah, that was me. He did notice your involvements with BTS-7, and enabled me to do the snooping. So I guess he was the most productive member that day, but I was the one snooping through your bank account.” Jaehyun laughed loudly at him, covering her mouth with her hands. 

“You did the snooping? I don’t even remember you.” Doyoung pulled an unflattering face. 

“I’m sorry, is the main hacker in BTS-7 the most flashy person there, is it codename Double B?” Doyoung asked indignantly. 

“I mean, no, but he’s really noticeable nonetheless..”

“I know V doesn’t seem like a hacker, and nobody here is aware of it either. Boss thinks he’s just a socialite, there to get information out of drunk officials at gatherings. He technically is, but there’s more to him than meets the eye.” Doyoung looked up at the taller woman, who he caught staring with her mouth open in what he presumed to be disbelief. He grinned with pride. That’s the reaction he was hoping for.

“That’s the impression he’s supposed to make, how did you know it was him?” 

“Every computer user has idiosyncrasies. You wouldn’t understand the details of how V does his work, but it’s distinct. I was snooping around his stuff, as he has done with mine, and the closer I got to his really interesting stuff, the more traces I found.” Doyoung just shrugged.

“And he’s encrypted a lot for everyone involved with BTS-7, but those are just general things. They’re supposed to keep mediocre part-timers and machines out. His own important stuff he keeps under lock and key, with a very interesting system I have yet to crack.” 

Jaehyun nodded pensively, muttering something underneath her breath. Doyoung wasn’t listening, so he just walked on towards the kitchen. 

They’d come out of the hallway, gone down the main staircase, and now Doyoung was searching for his keys, to enter the servant’s hallway, where the kitchen was located. 

“Looking for these?” A familiar voice asked. Doyoung sighed, overly dramatic. If he could raise his hands, he’d have leaned backwards a little and thrown his wrist against his head. 

“Stealing from an incapacitated man? Chenle, have you no soul?” The young woman laughed at him, and handed him his keys back. 

“You’ve asked me the same thing three days in a row now, it’s getting old. Like you!” Chenle laughed childishly at her own quip, which somehow diminished its power. 

“Anyway, Hyuck is still in there, and Mari has actually been paying attention to him today, so good luck getting him out of there.” Chenle gave him a noncommittal shrug, before linking arms with a second girl who‘d just come through the door. 

“Why are we complaining about Haechan again? First Jeno, then Mari and now you. You’d think we’d find some new things to suffer from.” The girl asked, leaning into Chenle’s hold.

“You really would. Has Jeno been complaining? Hyuck must not have reported his advancements again. I swear he forgets he’s in your division now that he’s been covering for me.” 

“Even worse than forgetting about reporting his advancements, Hyuck muted the group chat. Literally nothing we say is received anymore.” Chenle struck a pose, her hand on her forehead. Doyoung laughed at Chenle’s dramatically performed statement, but he felt a pang of guilt all the same. 

“I’m sorry girls, I’ll make sure we get back to our former rhythm soon enough.” 

Chenle shook her head. 

“No, no need to apologize. Jisung and I, as well as the others, are glad it’s done now rather than later. We have someone, and he’s been hearing some things.” Chenle tapped her ear, and pointed up towards the ceiling. Doyoung knew what it meant, and from the corner of his eye he saw Jaehyun, looking straight at Chenle still. He felt glad she had the sense not to look where she was pointing.

“Good luck with your recovery, Doyoung. We’ll see you later, and if we don’t, we’ll bother you with text messages. We’ll be off now!” Jisung waved as she pulled Chenle along, who waved excitedly as she stumbled after the other girl.

“Huh. I guess you didn’t not shake my hand to be petty.”

“Why for the love of fuck would I do that?”

“Dunno, associations with Bangtan? Objectively being more accomplished?” Jaehyun shrugged with a dumb smile on her face, like she knew from the get-go it was a silly assumption.

“I’m sorry, but you can be bodied on the spot and Taeyong would find a new assistant. I am what’s known in the industry as irreplaceable. I’m not sure you’re objectively more accomplished.” Doyoung raised an eyebrow, and Jaehyun had the decency to look away silently. Doyoung approached the door, shaking his head.

“I’m gonna need you to twist the key for me, Miss Jung,” Doyoung realised out loud as he put the key in the lock. He couldn’t mess up his progress, this door was too heavy. 

Jaehyun luckily didn’t question him, and instead just took over. 

“You can also just call me Jaehyun. Or Yoonoh, that’s fine.”

“Sure, Jaehyun. Now let’s go fetch us a stray Donghyuck. He’s going to work, even if I need to sic Seulgi on him.” In truth, Seulgi wasn’t even that scary, but Donghyuck just so happened to have a respect that was more akin to fear for the women with high ranks in the family, and Doyoung was absolutely the first person to make good use of this.

They walked towards the kitchen quickly, which was just a few doors down. Jaehyun got the door for Doyoung without him having to ask anything, and he bowed his head gratefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For everyone who hadn’t caught it yet, Mari is Fem!Mark. Her full name will be revealed further down the line, and as with all the other female characters, I’m keeping her korean name the same as Mark’s. Credits for her name to my dear friend Ash! I’m publishing this work for her. 
> 
> Ten more points to anyone who guesses the nature of Doyoung’s surgery!


End file.
